A man shot by a Columbus police officer Thursday morning has died.
Columbus police spokeswoman Jennifer Watson said officers responded to a report of a man cutting himself with a knife around 9:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Nelson Road, north of Nelson Park on the city’s east side.
She said police immediately found the man, who “began charging at the officers with a large knife in his hand.”
“The officers ordered the suspect to stop moving. He did not stop moving. In fact, he charged even further, yelling at the officers to shoot him,” Watson said.
One officer shot the man, who died 30 minutes later at Grant Hospital. Police have not identified the man nor the officer who shot him. The call for help came from inside a residence, but the shooting happened outside, Watson said.
Watson said she does not believe police had previously interacted with the suspect.
When asked about his mental health, Watson said it's always a concern in these situations. “Anytime you do something like this, and you know, you put yourself in this kind of danger, there's always a concern for mental health,” Watson said.
Columbus has rolled out an alternative crisis response plan that includes teams such as the Rapid Response Emergency and Addiction Crisis Team and the Right Response Unit, but Watson did not indicate whether those or other alternative teams responded to the scene. She indicated the officers had little communication with the man.
“Beyond the suspect yelling 'shoot me' and the officers ordering him to stop charging toward him with a large knife in his hand? There was no further conversation, no further exchange,” Watson said.
Watson said the officers involved in the incident were wearing body cameras.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is looking into the shooting, which is standard operating procedure when a law enforcement officer fires a weapon.
